What with 250 days of filming to get through, you'd forgive Jackson for leaving the diary updates to near namesake Peeder Jigson. We'd almost given up on another video diary appearing online, but here it is to mark the end of the first of three chunks - or 'blocks' - of the production. The three-part structure of the shoot means pre-production, principal photography and effects work are running concurrently. Unsurprisingly, everyone looks bloody knackered.

Best of all, the diaries show Andy Serkis in action as second unit director. There's that easy shorthand he's developed with his boss down the years. As Jackson jokes, it's a move to "the dark side" for the actor, although Serkis is also spotted getting his Gollum on.

Part two of update from New Zealand shows two more of the company of dwarves - Kiwi actors John Callen (Oin) and Peter Hambleton (Gloin, father of Gimli) - tooling up for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.